House Cleaning Blues
by Constance-Lirit
Summary: Lenore (OC) x Madara - In a vain attempt to get Madara to clean Lenore invites her father-in-law to be over, hoping to scare Madara into picking up his act. An important guest also comes to the estate and leaves the Uchiha family a little gift that keeps Lenore on her toes all week.Will everything work out in the end?
1. Chapter 1

Stood outside the living room one early morning Lenore and her fiancé, Madara, were greeting his father who had come to visit.  
"Madara, you don't look well, how do you feel, son?" Madara's father enquired, whilst Lenore just made a small irked noise.  
"Oh, I'm alright." Madara replied, a little worn down but still going strong.  
"And how are you, Lenore?" Tajima then asked, glancing at Lenore.  
"Oh, I-" she went to speak, being cut off mid-sentence.  
"Madara, you take care of yourself." he stated, running after his son when he went to do something apparently his father deemed 'irresponsible.'  
"It's nice of you to ask, I really feel terrible." Lenore continued, not that anyone was listening.  
"I wouldn't like it if you were sick, Madara." his father added, doting on his beloved eldest son.  
"Oh don't worry about me, I wont pull through, how are you?" the Uchiha went on to ask, pretty much having a full blown conversation with herself at this point. "Rotten? That's good." she then stated, finally gaining her father-in-laws attention once more.  
"What?" he asked with an air of confusion, turning his head to gaze at her.

Realising what had been going on behind his back whilst he was busy fussing over Madara he turned properly to face Lenore.  
"Oh, wasn't I properly concerned about your health, Lenore?" he asked, his eyebrow raising. "It's just that you never look sick." he explained. "You look like a horse to me." he then complimented her, Lenore's eyelids narrowing.  
"That saying usually goes 'as strong as a horse'." she corrected him, not at all pleased.  
"Uh, eh.. Let's go into the other room." Madara slowly uttered, trying to break up the intense glower being shared between both his father and fiancée. "You didn't tell me father was coming over, Lenore." Madara stated, glancing awkwardly towards the slightly shorter Uchiha.  
"Well, I wanted to surprise you." she replied, smiling sweetly.  
"Oh, well, I'm going to go get something from the other room, I'll be right in." he informed them, scuttling off down the corridor.

Heading into the living room first Lenore turned to gaze at her father-in-law.  
"Come in Father." she called, seeing that he was still lingering in the hallway.  
"Well," he spoke, coming in to stop dead in his tracks out of sheer surprise.  
"Well what?" Lenore shot back, giving him a questioning gaze.  
"The condition of this room." he continued, unsure of how to really comprehend the state of it. "Lenore, when you had this fight you didn't hurt Madara did you?" he asked, finally taking his gaze off of the bombsite to look at her frowning features.  
"I don't know what you're talking about." she then answered, relaxing her expression to come across as naive. "This is just a nice, comfortable living room." she uttered, examining the mess.  
"Comfortable? Only a pig would be comfortable in this room." Tajima informed her.  
"Well, I can't argue with that right from the old sow himself." Lenore quietly replied just out of earshot, her eyes settling at the corners of her eyelids to look off to the side.

Frowning at the state of the room Tajima finally sighed.  
"Well, I wont say a thing." he uttered, gaining her attention.  
"Oh, go ahead." she stated, trying to coax it out of him.  
"No, no; I'm no longer a father, I'm a father-in-law, and I'm not one to step out of line." he refused lightly.  
"Oh go ahead, why stop now?" Lenore asked, shrugging.  
"Lenore, when you finally prevailed to become engaged to Madara I-" Tajima went to say, being cut off by her this time.  
"Now just a minute, I prevailed to become engaged to Madara?" she asked, making sure she was hearing this correctly.  
"That's what I said." he answered simply. "And when that happened I said to myself 'Tajima, no matter what goes on in Madara's life you are not to open your mouth'." he stated firmly, causing her to raise an eyebrow sceptically.  
"Is that what you said to yourself?" she asked.  
"Yes." he replied.  
"Must have been hard of hearing." she surmised, rolling her eyes out of shot.  
"At any rate, I am not going to say anything." Tajima firmly stated, causing Lenore minor disappointment. For once he was not going to criticise her when she actively wanted it.

Pouting a little the pair of them stood there as Madara entered the room to greet them once again.  
"Well, Father, I'm glad you came over tonight." he uttered, trying to smile at his father. "What's new?" he then enquired, hoping to make some friendly conversation.  
"This is the most disgraceful looking room I have ever seen!" Tajima protested, stopping Madara in his tracks. "That's what's new." he uttered a little calmer than before, causing Lenore to laugh and gain his attention sharply. "What's so funny, Lenore?" he enquired.  
"I've been battling Madara for days about the condition of this room, this is the way he wants it." she giggled evilly, while her fiancé went a little pale in turn.  
"This is the way he wants it?" Tajima enquired.  
"Yes." Lenore purred, hoping to get the response she was searching for this time.  
"Oh." he simply uttered, giving the room a questionable stare. "Well, if Madara likes it this way." he uttered stiffly.  
"I'm dead." Lenore instantly stated, flattening her features.

Thankful his father had not blown a short fuse Madara attempted to defend himself.  
"I just think a house should look lived in." he explained, much to his father's agreement.  
"Well I agree, son." he uttered, beginning to give a sickly smile.  
"Pardon me while I go outside and shoot myself." Lenore huffed, even more displeased than before.  
"I don't understand you, Lenore. Don't Madara's wishes mean anything to you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "After all, a man is always his castle." he explained.  
"Well he ought to pick up his draw bridge once in a while." Lenore simply replied.  
"Oh you're just being over sensitive, Lenore." Madara reasoned.  
"Oh fine, I give up. Apparently blood is thicker than dust, go on, wade around all you like." Lenore sighed, clearly at a loss.  
"I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back." Tajima spoke, heading out into the hallway.  
"Lenore, how do you always manage to get my father so upset?" Madara asked, turning to give his fiancée a displeased stare.  
"Oh, I don't know, I'm just lucky I guess." she replied, shrugging gently.  
"He really likes you, Lenore, you just don't give him a chance." the ebony haired Uchiha then stated, much to Lenore's disagreement.

Entering the room once more Tajima almost looked a little ecstatic.  
"You wont believe what I just heard from one of the delivery servants." he squawked. "An important out of town friend is coming to our village this afternoon." he informed them.  
"No." Madara uttered, absolutely astonished.  
"Yes." his father agreed, grinning. "Will you come and meet him at the front of the village, Madara?" Tajima asked, much to her son's agreement. About to leave Tajima then turned around and looked upon Lenore, who in turn gave him an expectant look. What did he want now? "Lenore… Since company is coming don't you think you should tidy up a bit?" their father suggested, much to Lenore's displeasure.  
"Oh heavens no, our living room wouldn't looked lived in." the young woman disagreed coyly.  
"Ah, yes dear…" the elder Uchiha uncomfortably agreed. "I had said Madara was right, but this is different. You understand, don't you?" he asked, trying to play to her good side.  
"Oh brother do I understand, but Madara wouldn't be happy." she shrugged, sarcastically thinking of his happiness.  
"Well, now that I look at it Lenore, it is sort of a mess." her fiancé uttered, her eyebrow hitching. Examining him for a moment Lenore pondered what to do with him, throw him out a window or use him as a mop.  
"Oh alright, run along you two I'll fix the room." Lenore uttered, finally defeated.  
"Excellent, come along Madara." Tajima beckoned, whisking himself and his son from the room.

Some time later Lenore was disturbed as she tried to gut the bedroom while Madara was not around to pinch her bum every time she bent over, the ever grating voice of her father-in-law drifting towards her ears.  
"Lenore, may I see you a moment." Tajima beckoned, searching for the woman in question.  
"What is it, Father?" she asked, drawing herself through into the next room.  
"It's about dinner tonight, I want to run over a few things with you." he explained, having her sit down beside him.  
"Such as?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.  
"Well this dinner is very important and I want to be sure you will conduct yourself properly." he uttered, trying not to strike a nerve too soon. "Now, when Katashi arrives one of the servants will take his coat and I will introduce you to him. I want you to politely bow to him." he carefully stated, as if she would not understand him if he spoke too quickly.  
"Well I'm glad you told me that, I was thinking of biting him on the leg." Lenore responded sarcastically, causing the older Uchiha to frown. "Oh relax," she uttered, standing up. "I'll be fine. I'm not that bad." she tutted, going back to cleaning.

Back in the bedroom the young woman had been trying to make the bed when there was a sudden sharp pain located on her right buttocks.  
"Oh!" she gasped, standing up straight with her eyes wide. "Madara!" she protested sheepishly, turning to glower at the young man who was grinning wolfishly. "Madara Uchiha, what have I told you about pinching my bum?!" the young woman scolded him, turning to face him so he could not have another go.  
"Hi sweety." he spoke in a teasing manner, creeping closer to wrap his arms around her waist. "How's my beautiful fiancée right now?" he cooed, holding her shoulders.  
"What do you want?" she asked plainly, giving him a flat look.  
"Aw, can't I come see my favourite fiancée whenever I like?" he asked, causing her eyelids to narrow.  
"No." she stated, watching him roll his eyes and let her go.  
"Father wanted me to convince you to behave in front of our guest." he explained, clearly defeated.  
"Why does everyone think I'm going to act up? I can be polite and elegant when I want to be." she frowned, going back to making the bed.

Turning to look at one of their servants Madara nodded when they motioned for him to follow, apparently their guest was here and waiting in the dining room in his father's section of the house.  
"Come on, Lenore, it's dinner time." he spoke, drawing her from the room. Heading across the house and entering Tajima's domain Lenore entered the dining room, his head bowing with Madara's to greet their newest company politely.  
"Katashi, this is Lenore, Madara's fiancée." her father-in-law spoke, introducing her to a man she could not help but stop and stare at.  
He was neither old nor fat, in fact she could quite possible dare herself to say he was just as attractive as Madara, if not more so. He had platinum blond hair which draped down his head in waves and gorgeous blue eyes that made her wish there was a jewel similar to them that she could wear.  
"It's a pleasure to meet you." she spoke politely, while he examined her with his drink lowering away from his lips before he could take a sip.  
"Well…" he spoke, beginning to show her a toothy grin which in turn caused Lenore's soft features to sharpen. Oh great, another Madara.

Bowing again she sat down at the knee high dining table between Izuna and Madara, with Tajima and Katashi on the other side, and picked up her chopsticks. Slowly she ate, trying not to be anything else but a shadow between the two Uchiha nobles. Their guest however would not leave her alone, and for whatever reason every topic of discussion seemed to be brought down upon her.  
"So, I heard you are quite interested in politics." Katashi stated, examining Lenore as she stopped with her chopsticks still clasped between her lips.  
"They're important." she answered, having taken her chopsticks out of her mouth.  
"What do you think of the war between the Fire Country and the Mist?" he enquired, while she examined him for a moment and detected the key signs of a trap.  
"You do what you have to do." she replied in a neutral and roundabout fashion, while her father-in-law let out a sigh of relief.

Raising his eyebrow the blond smirked, oh how he liked a challenge.  
"I find it interested that you speak at the table." he stated, rather surprised to see one of her flat ebony locks ping up into a curled point. Slowly she flattened it back out and tried to stay calm, her expression remaining delicate. "Madara's quite lenient with you, that must be a breath of fresh air considering how important tradition is." he continued.  
"Tradition is something that evolves." she answered, going back to eating. Lenore was not quite sure what he was aiming to do but she was not about to play into his game.  
"She's too good for me." Katashi surmised, beginning to grin whilst Tajima just sighed softly.

After dinner Lenore was glad to have escaped, her fan flicking wildly as she pulled her kimono open slightly, it was way too hot tonight to be in three layers like this. Sighing she shut her eyes and began to relax, though she stiffened when a servant went running by in a frantic panic, when three more did the same thing, while running in different directions, Lenore finally got up and sighed. It was probably best that she found out what was going on.  
Looking for Tajima when she could not find anyone else Lenore paused upon entering the room and finding him with two little boys she did not quite recognise. Tajima seemed to groan at that point and stare at the two little boys before speaking.  
"Madara, take Izuna and go play in the garden." their father requested, the young boy hesitating for a moment before he nodded and got up.

Glaring at Lenore he seemed to scoff at her and leave, carrying Izuna on the way out since he could not move on his own.  
"What's going on?" Lenore asked, giving Tajima a confused stare.  
"Katashi thought it would be funny to leave us a parting gift. He's turned Izuna and Madara into children!" the man fumed once the two boys were out of earshot.  
"Well, turn them back." Lenore suggested.  
"I can't, Katashi took off into the hills before they opened the scroll. I've no idea how to fix it." Tajima groaned, rubbing his forehead as he spoke.  
"Oh, well I'm sure it'll wear off before morning." she attempted to reassure him.  
"I hope so." he sighed. "Just play along until it does, Lenore. They have no recollection of being adults, I don't want to have to try explain to a baby and a seven-year-old that they are actually sixteen and twenty." he grumbled, to which she nodded in agreement.

That next day at breakfast Lenore sat there eating quietly, a pair of black eyes boring into her from the other side of the table.  
"Madara, it's rude to stare." Tajima told him off, but the child continued to burn holes into the woman.  
"Who is she?" he asked loudly, while Lenore continued to feed Izuna.  
"Lenore is your fiancée." Tajima replied, to which he made a disgruntled noise.  
"Ew, why would I want to marry her?" he asked, while Lenore twitched her eyebrow slightly.  
"I don't know son, I sometimes wonder that too." Tajima murmured, only making Lenore even more annoyed.  
"Hey, pass me the milk." Madara then ordered, frowning at her indignantly as she continued to serve his little brother.

Tajima laughed at that point, he certainly would enjoy this side of Madara at least.  
"You're a big boy, you can get your own milk." Lenore answered, feeding Izuna the last of his breakfast before making sure she had wiped pretty much all of it back off of his face when it came oozing back out of his mouth.  
"Such a messy eater." she tutted, putting the dishes back onto the table.  
"Hey, feed me now!" Madara ordered, watching her stand up.  
"You can feed yourself." she informed him, allowing a servant to take Izuna's dishes away.  
"You're supposed to do whatever I say, I'm the master of this house." Madara informed her, though she just nodded and gave him a vague 'mhm.'  
"Father, this servant is being unruly." the young boy protested, hoping his father would do something about it.  
"You're on your own." Tajima answered, not about to waste energy getting Lenore to do anything she would not want to do.

Finishing her breakfast Lenore went for a walk around the estate, a soft sigh parting her lips as to how quiet it was. It almost seemed a little too good to be true that she could wander around without the fear of Madara popping out of nowhere to be a pervert, however she soon found out that she had something far worse to be concerned about. Apparently Madara had been a mischief maker as a child and had setup traps for her, the first one she came across being a tripwire which threw flour all over her.  
"What the hell?" she yelped, holding her arms out at either side of herself in shock.  
Nearby Madara could be heard laughing, causing her to turn and glare at him bitterly.  
"Hah, I got you!" he cheered, causing her to frown.  
"Come here!" she shouted, running after him.

Gasping the young boy turned on his heel and ran, though, to his astonishment, she was far faster than she appeared.  
"Father!" the boy squealed, being grabbed by the brutish woman who was even stronger than she was fast. "Father, help! The Gorilla is bully me!" he cried, only making Lenore even angrier.  
"Gorilla?!" she barked, glaring at the child as he continued to squirm. By the time Tajima had answered his call the young boy had been tied to a tree in the garden with an apple stuffed into his mouth, his eyebrows twitching erratically as he continued to try escape.  
"Son, what happened?" the older man asked, examining the various drawings on his face that had crudely been put there with ink as he took the apple from his mouth.  
"That ogre did this to me!" the child protested, pouting firmly.

Chuckling Tajima untied his son and let him go, by 'ogre' he had assumed Madara had been talking about Lenore.  
"I'm going to get her back!" the young boy snapped, rampaging off to find the woman in question.  
"At least he's terrorising her and not the servants this time." the ebony haired man surmised, watching his son vanish back into the house. Finding Lenore asleep on a set of cushions the child began to smirk deviously, now was his chance to seek revenge. Creeping closer Madara began to draw a moustache on her upper lip, his head turning to look at Izuna for a moment when he realised he was being cradled against Lenore's side.  
Picking up his baby brother the young boy allowed Izuna to scrub the black pen all over Lenore's face, whilst Madara gritted his teeth together and tried not to let the heavy laughter that was making his eyes pop in and out escape him. Snorting a bit Lenore grumbled, whilst Madara pulled his little brother away and put him back in Lenore's arms.  
"You take the blame for this one, I'll make it up to you." he whispered, smirking at his little brother's naive stare.

Running off to hide Madara lay in wait for her to wake up, a smirk plastered upon his face as he did so. Once she had finally awoke Lenore mumbled and sat up slowly, her ebony eyes lolling down to look at Izuna who was still swinging the pen about aimlessly.  
"Izuna, where did you get that pen, you could of gotten ink poisoning." Lenore gasped, taking it from him before he took it upon himself to suck on the pen just to reinforce her fears.  
"Lenore, girl, what happened to you?" Ami asked, having come to see if the rumours were true for herself.  
"What?" she asked, being handed a mirror.  
"Izuna must of done it." her blonde friend surmised, waving at the little boy who only stared at her like a less than intelligent goldfish.  
"No, I think Madara's the culprit." Lenore replied, glancing at the boy in question from the corner of her eye as he gasped and ran off.

Thankfully the ink came off after a few washes, allowing the pair to be able to walk around in public while Izuna was asleep in his room.  
"Madara's more trouble than usual, Ami. He threw flour all over me this morning, and then he drew all over my face this afternoon." Lenore huffed, whilst her friend merely giggled.  
"You can't win with him, can you?" she asked, watching Lenore shake her head slowly.  
"Gorilla!" she heard the boy in question shout, causing her to turn and look. Seconds later she had been blinded by a clump of soft mud being thrown at her face. "I heard mud facials are great for your skin. Maybe you'll go from repulsive to butt ugly!" he cackled, running away again while Ami just gasped in shock.  
"Are you alright?" she asked, while Lenore slowly wiped the mud from her face.  
"I'm fine." Lenore grumbled, that was the second kimono she had gone through today because of him.

Come dinner time the young woman was glaring bitterly at Madara as he simply continued to eat his dinner as if he had been an angel all day.  
"Lenore, you'll only age faster if you crinkle your face like that." Tajima spoke, only making her more grunt.  
"At this rate I'll have white hair too." she mumbled, finishing her dinner.  
"You'd suit white hair, since you're old, Gorilla." the ebony haired child informed her, pouting when he found she was too busy tending to his baby brother to notice.  
"You're so cute, are those new booties?" she asked, playing with the baby's feet.  
"Hey, Gorilla, oi!" Madara called, only to have his words fall on deaf ears. Feeling his face burning up the child grumbled and stuffed another dumpling into his mouth, his father raising an eyebrow to this curiously.  
"So cute." she cooed, having a few servants join in to play with his nose as Madara only got more surly.

Sometime during the evening Lenore had come through to check on Izuna, who would probably be tired by now and ready for bed, however what she came upon was far more shocking.  
"Madara!" she screamed, grabbing either side of her head as she stared at the two of them.  
"Who's cuter now?" he asked, opening and shutting a pair of scissors as Izuna peered up at her with a smile. Straight after Madara had found himself in a corner facing the wall, a scowl etched across his face as he grumbled about how unfair she was being. Having informed Tajima to how Izuna was now bald neither of them were happy, the pair of them staring at the back of Madara's head with their arms crossed.  
"Do you think shaving him bald would be a good punishment?" Lenore asked, raising her eyebrow.  
"Do you really think Madara would be pleased with that?" Tajima asked, glancing at her.  
"Who was saying anything about taking Madara's opinion into consideration?" she laughed, imagining Madara with a shiny head and her screaming 'too bright.'

Deciding he had spent long enough on the naughty stool Tajima dragged Madara to bed, while Lenore sighed and went to bed, it had been a long day. In the morning the young boy had come into the dining room to find Lenore hard at work knitting.  
"Knit one, pearl two, oh darn.. Dropped a stitch." she sighed, fiddling away at making something.  
"What are you doing?" Madara asked sceptically.  
"Making Izuna a hat." she answered plainly, knotting off the end and then slipping it over his nogging. "There you go, that'll stop you from catching a cold." she mumbled, whilst he just smile happily at Madara, not at all bothered by the fact that his older brother had lopped off all of his hair.

Grumbling the young boy nibbled on his breakfast, his eyes occasionally rolling up to look at Lenore before flicking back down towards his bowl. Now Lenore was not stupid, she knew he was looking at her, when you're ten you don't really have a concept for the art of stealthily looking at someone.  
"Hey, Gorilla?" Madara asked, trying to gain her attention. "Gorilla!" he called a little louder than before, but she continued to ignore him. There was no way in hell that she was going to acknowledge him when he was not going to refer to her by her real name.  
"Lenore." Tajima called, having entered the room.  
"Yes?" she responded, turning to look at him curiously. To her amusement Madara was now scowling bitterly at her, he really did not like being ignored, did he?

Allowing a servant to care for Izuna now the young woman went for a walk, this time she would be ready for whatever prank the little brat Madara had up his sleeve. Coming around a corner the young woman stopped and jogged backwards, her head peering around the corner to examine the boy in question who was setting up a trap. As soon as it was ready he then hid, his little ebony eyes peeping out before sparking into life upon seeing Lenore, the apple of his eye, coming his way. Smugly Lenore strutted along the path, her body stopping mere inches away from his trap, holding her fan up by her lips the young woman peered up at the bucket and then down at the area where Madara was hiding.  
Taking it down the young woman waited quietly, while the boy, who was confused as to why she had not screamed in a pissed off manner yet, came out of hiding to stop instantaneously and look up at her. Dumping the orange juice all over him the boy squealed and threw his hands into the air, his whining voice calling for his father as he ran off covered in the juice that had originally been meant for her.


	2. Chapter 2

Laughing Lenore had taken a step forward to continue on her walk before she came to a halt, perhaps she would lay a trap for Madara this time. Humming evilly Lenore looked down at the soft soil in the garden and began to concoct a plan. Later that afternoon Madara had gone to his room to relax for a bit, he had had no luck finding Lenore and whilst he was here he could at least think up some less obvious tricks to pull on her.  
Going to lay down on his bed the young boy stopped when he saw the covers move slightly, cautiously he then pulled the sheets back and screamed like a little girl when he found clumps of mud and writhing worms littered all over his bed, his horrified expression dimming when he heard Lenore howl with laughter from the doorway.  
"You scream like a little girl!" she laughed, slapping her leg.  
"You act like a little boy!" he snapped back, frowning up at her.  
"Aw, Moody-Madara, stop scowling." she giggled, wiping a tear from her eyelid.

At this point the young boy was certain that he was going to get her back, and he knew just how to get his revenge when it came to a woman. Entering her bedroom the young boy went about rummaging through her dresser, only slightly confused as to why there were men's clothes in there with her kimonos. Pulling a rather plain looking kimono out of the closet the young boy examined it for a minute, he would have liked to have ruined one of her nicer kimonos but he was well aware that they cost a lot of money.  
Peering at the frayed edges and worn collar the young boy hitched his brow, it was not exactly the best looking dress in her collection either. Putting it onto the bed he then went about pondering what to do with it; tear it, burn it, stick it up a tree, bury it underneath the tree, there were so many things to choose from. Putting it on he began to run around the estate, the bottom dragging everywhere he went, through the house collecting dust, through the garden collecting dirt, he even ran through his favourite stream, soaking it in the process.

Grinning from ear to ear he waltzed back towards the house after an hour of adventuring, his face dropping when he opened his eyes and looked up at Lenore's furious expression, an expression which stopped him dead in his tracks.  
"Give me back my kimono." she requested, whilst he regained his composure.  
"No." Madara replied, still his cocky self.  
"Give it back to me before I murder you and bury you underneath the house." she hissed, a vein popping out of her forehead.  
"I said no. It's mine now. You have loads of kimonos." he answered, still refusing. Flinching Madara gasped when she tripped him over and then grabbed him by the ankles, picking him up she began to rattle him; leading to cherry bombs, small weapons and other miscellaneous items used for pranks to fall out of his pockets until finally the oversized kimono came off. Throwing him he caught himself, thanks to the minor training he had received from his father, his expression going from confused to angry.  
"I'm telling my father on you, Gorilla!" he shouted, running off to go tell his father about her shaking him and then throwing him across the garden.

Stood there protesting his father did not seem that interested in his plight.  
"Madara, you'll be a grown man soon, you can deal with this yourself." he informed him, busy working on a series of important documents.  
"But Father!" he replied, his father only groaning.  
"Kenji, I need you to send this document to the Rain Village." he requested, calling through one of his personal servants as the boy began to frown and stomp off.  
"Gorilla!" Madara snapped, entering the bedroom where she was busy cradling her kimono.  
At the time her face had been stuffed into the fabric, not at all bothered by where it had could have possibly been in the hour that Madara had had it.  
"Hey, Gorilla!" the Uchiha complained again, her hands and the dress moving away from her face only slightly. "I demand an apology! You can't go around shaking your betters." he grumbled, keeping a know-it-all expression upon his face. Lenore did not reply however and only lowered her kimono and arms a little more.  
"I am this close to throwing you out of a window." she mumbled, her gaze narrowing. "Or maybe drop you off the roof." she added, clearly contemplating it.

Huffing Madara crossed his arms, why was this woman so stubborn?  
"Are you any closer to apologising?" he asked, squeaking and running from the room when she let out an angry roar and got up to grab him. Hiding from her until dinner time the young boy carefully entered the dining room, though only Izuna and his father were present at the time. "Where's Gorilla?" he asked cautiously, sitting down in his favourite seat.  
"She is eating on her own tonight it seems." Tajima answered, glad to see a servant had finally come to feed Izuna in Lenore's place. Frowning the young boy ate his dinner and then went about searching for an ideal place to set up a new trap, though he paused in his mischief making when he heard something weird in the distance near the southern end of the estate.  
"The sky looks pissed, the wind talks back. My bones are shifting in my skin, and you, my love, are gone. My room seems wrong, the bed won't fit, I cannot seem to operate, and you, my love, are gone." Madara could hear someone sing, his feet carefully padding across the floor until he came across a room he had not known about up until now.

Peering in the young boy found Lenore perched on a chair inside of the room, the oil-lit lamp on the table beside her flickering as she sat there attempting to fix her dress.  
"So glide away on soapy heels and promise not to promise anymore, and if you come around again then I will take, then I will take the chain from off the door." she murmured, slipping the needle back through the fabric. "I'll never say 'I'll never love', but I don't say a lot of things, and you, my love, are gone." she continued, holding out her kimono to check it from a distance. "So glide away on soapy heels and promise not to promise anymore, and if you come around again then I will take the chain from off the door." she whispered, lowering it to start sewing again.  
"Oi, Gorilla." Madara interrupted her, her soft expression altering almost instantly. "You didn't come to dinner." he continued, creeping closer.  
"I'm busy." she replied stonily, starting to sew once more.  
"Can I help?" he asked, examining the kimono.  
"You've done enough damage." she icily replied, her ebony orbs burning into her dress. "If you want to be helpful then you can leave." she added, causing him to frown.  
"Fine, I didn't want to help anyway." the small Uchiha spat, quickly leaving the room.

Glowering at her kimono Lenore muttered under her breath, though over time her mumbling dissipated and her face began to soften. Slowly her hands stopped weaving and settled on her lap thereafter, her head slowly rising to look at the door he had left open. Sighing Lenore got up and brought her kimono to her bedroom, why did Madara always have to be away or unavailable whenever she needed him the most. Sliding open her large wardrobe Lenore put her kimono back up and put her thread and needles away, making sure they were out of reach of Izuna and Madara. Preparing for an early night Lenore sat down on her bed and began to get undressed, however as she slid the collar of her kimono away from her neck and just past the curve of her shoulder the young woman stopped. There was someone watching her.

Looking over her shoulder the young woman spotted Madara peering in at her from the edge of the door frame, making direct eye contact with him he consciously braced himself for whatever she was going to say. Turning her head away Lenore watched him through the reflections in the tall mirror in the corner of the room, though she could not find the energy to question his motives for coming here and remained quiet.  
"Father said that you're my fiancée and that I'm supposed to deal with you myself." he stated, though he did not sound as certain as he usually did. When Lenore did not respond the young boy continued. "I should be sleeping in here too, not in one of the guest suites." he added, causing her eyebrow to hitch. "So I'm sleeping here tonight." he informed her, flattening his lips together as he stepped into the room.

Standing up from the edge of the bed Lenore turned, his entire body tensing as he watched her come closer. Shutting his eyes and sinking his head onto his shoulders he seemed to prepare for a smack.  
"Do as you please." Lenore simply replied, drifting past him as he settled and opened an eye in confusion.  
"Where are you going?" he asked, turning to give her an odd look.  
"I'm going to run myself a bath." she answered, disappearing into the bathroom a few doors down. Sighing Madara calmed himself, nothing had prepared him for this. Tonight he would sleep in a king-sized bed, with a woman no less. Gulping the young boy went to the bed and climbed up onto it, his body flopping sideways so he could rest on the comfortable mattress.  
At first he had been laying on it in such a way that would normally be practical for a single bed, however as soon as he reminded himself this bed was twice the size of even Lenore he had rolled onto his back and sprawled out across the bed sheets eagerly. Laying there in total bliss Madara soon fell asleep, his eyes opening slowly in the morning when the sunlight broke through the trees and hit his face.

Groaning he sat up and looked around, not quite sure where he was at first until he reminded himself that he had decided to sleep in Lenore's bed last night. Peering around the young boy could not see the devil herself, but from the state of the sheets she had never come to bed in the first place. Going to breakfast Madara soon found that she had not come to eat either, causing him to check in the bathroom just in case she had fallen asleep in the tub and drowned. Finding that she was not there either the ebony haired child checked the room where she had been sewing last night, and then the bedroom again, before finally going to see if maybe she was in Izuna's room.  
Finally he had found her, the young woman was standing with Ami, a girl he had seen a few days ago when he threw mud in Lenore's face. Hiding from sight the small boy spied on them, suddenly overcome with a nervous disposition that would not allow him to get any closer.

Lenore and Ami had been waiting for the key to Izuna's room at the time, as Tajima had taken to locking it to protect his youngest son from harm, but Ami seemed to be in great distress.  
"Who locks a baby in a room?" she asked, almost chewing off her nails.  
"A man, that's who." Lenore replied casually. "At any rate the servant will be here in a minute." the Uchiha continued.  
"We can't wait that long, do something, Lenore. Knock the door down!" her friend begged, while Lenore just frowned a little.  
"I would but Tajima would peel me like a peach, and besides Izuna's probably still sleeping, he's fine." the ebony haired woman tutted, trying to reason with her over dramatic friend.  
"What if he jumped out of his cot?" Ami panicked, only making Lenore roll her eyes.  
"He can't hold his own head up but, yes, jumped." Lenore sarcastically replied, only making Ami whine a little.

Trying to settle herself Lenore's friend stood there for a moment, contemplating everything collectively only to jump back onto the idea that something horrible might have happened to the baby.  
"Oh my god, what if someone left the water running?" she asked, frowning delicately.  
"Ami, no one's left the water running." Lenore groaned, just about ready to slap some sense into her friend.  
"Did someone leave the stove on?" she asked, certain she could hear hissing.  
"No one's cooked in their own bedroom since Tajima was a child." Lenore answered in a surly fashion.  
"Well what if the window's open? If it's open a bird could fly in and-" Ami pressed on, finally breaking the camels back.  
"Oh my god! You know what, I think you're right. I think I can hear something, listen!" Lenore gasped, leaning up against the door as her friend began to panic.

Shoving her own face against the door Ami tried to figure out what Lenore was referring to, while Madara as just about ready to break the door down himself.  
"A fulmar… No, no, wait. One of Madara's hawks flew in!" Lenore gasped, causing Ami to groan and pull herself away from the door. "It landed on the stove and caught fire!" Lenore continued, gasping and showing her friend a look of shock. "The baby, seeing this, jumps across the room to the mighty birds aid!" Lenore proclaimed, while Ami gave her an irritated glower and Madara just stared at her in wide wonder. "The hawk however mistakes this for an act of aggression and grabs Izuna in its talons! Meanwhile the tap that has been left on fills the room with water. Baby and bird, still ablaze, are locked in a death grip, swirling around the whirlpool that fills the room!" Lenore over exaggerated, her arms flying up at either side of her body.

Scowling Ami crossed her arms while Madara just started laughing, drawing both women's attentions his way.  
"Does he always hide and spy on you?" Ami asked, raising her eyebrow.  
"You don't know the half of it." Lenore murmured, watching him creep closer.  
"Hi." he greeted Ami, smiling up at her as she smiled back while Lenore rolled her eyes. "I didn't know Gorilla's friend was really pretty." he continued, making the blonde giggle.  
"Gorilla?" she asked, glancing towards Lenore who was sourly looking down the corridor to search for the servant.  
"She's really strong." Madara explained quietly. "I think she's really a man." the young boy then whispered, flinching when Lenore turned to glare at him. "Gotta go." he then informed them swiftly before running away.

Come mid-afternoon Lenore had decided to go for another walk, her umbrella resting on her shoulder as she wandered down by the riverbed just outside the estate. With Madara trapped in a child's body she had found it a lot easier to do as she pleased, she had even managed to stay out until nine at night without anyone telling her it was inappropriate for a young bride to be out so late.  
"If there was a chance that we could be lovers I'd write you a book of handwritten letters and burn them all up to the end just to start over again." Lenore sang, kicking a few rocks along the bank into the water.  
Watching them skip across the water and then sink Lenore let out a gentle sigh, a breath of fresh air was all she needed she supposed.  
"If there was a chance that we could be lovers I'd learn how to dance, and to hold without touching. Oh love, where have you been? I'll wait for your lead to come in." she chimed, kicking her leg as she attempted to dance with her umbrella spinning. "So tell me the secret, is there a way into your heart 'cause I want to believe it. Oh will I be wishing until the last falling star." she continued, twirling and causing her hair to rise and fall.

Jumping up she landed upon a rock with her ebony eyes gleaming.  
"If there was a chance that we could be lovers I'd swim seven oceans and keep going further. I'd hold my breath until you slipped those words that belong on your lips." she sung, putting her hand to her forehead to pretend to search the river far and wide. "Say a line could be anything, stay with me tonight. Tell me the secret, is there a way into your heart 'cause I want to believe it. Oh will I be wishing, I'll keep on wishing until the last falling star." Lenore uttered, dropping down onto the rock she had perched herself on to gaze at the trickling water below her.  
"Why are you here?" Madara asked, having apparently tracked her down to his favourite stream.  
"Because I like it here." she answered, still hidden behind her umbrella.  
"Well this is my spot." the young boy informed her, the click of rocks getting louder behind her before he stopped. "If you're gonna hang out here you have to do what I say." he added, pouting sternly.

Raising her eyebrow Lenore turned only slightly and lifted her umbrella to put it onto her other shoulder so she could see him.  
"As my future wife you have to entertain me. So you have to keep singing." he stated, frowning now as he attempted to ignore a small blush on his cheeks. Examining this side of him she had not seen before Lenore turned away and chuffed a little into her curled up index finger, Madara had apparently been strangely tender as a child.  
"What do you want me to sing?" she enquired, the first thing to have been directed at him since last night.

Blinking Madara looked at her for a moment, rather surprised she was going to go along with this.  
"Something funny." he ordered, trying to regain his composure.  
"Funny how?" she asked, peering down at her sandals.  
"Well, I always laugh when something inappropriate happens, so something like that." he answered, not quite sure what he really wanted her to sing.  
"There was an old farmer who lived on a rock, he sat in the meadow just shaking his… fist at some boys who were down by the creek. Their feet in the water their hands on their… marbles and playthings, and at half past four there came a young lady, she looked like a… pretty young creature." Lenore sang, while Madara just stood there staring at her. "She sat on the grass and pulled up her dress and showed them her… ruffles and laces and white fluffy duck. She said she was learning of a new way to… bring up her children so they would not spit, while the boys in the barnyard were shovelling… refuse and litter from yesterdays hunt." she continued, only making the young boy's expression widen.

By now his face had began to burn up, and even though she was not saying anything dirty he could not help but anticipate it.  
"While the girl in the meadow was rubbing her… eyes at the fellow down by the dock. He looked like a man with a sizable… home in the country with big fences out front, and if he asked her politely she'd show him her… little pet dog who was subject to fits, and maybe she'd let him grab hold of her..." the older Uchiha sang, getting a little carried away with herself at this point. "small tender hand with a moment so quick, and then she'd bend over and suck… on his candy, so tasty and made of butterscotch, and then he'd spread whipped cream all over her… cookies that she had left on the shelf." Lenore stated, tilting her head from side to side. "And if you think this song is dirty you can go-" she went to sing, flinching when Tajima shouted.  
"Lenore!" he belted out, causing her to go pale and then whip round in shock and gaze at him.

At this moment in time he had slapped his hands over Madara's ears, a deep scowl churning on his face as she stared at him like a deer caught in headlights.  
"Of all the people in the world I find you trying to teach my son such vulgarity!" he protested, while she tried to explain herself.  
"I didn't say anything rude." she tried to reason with him, while he simply picked Madara up and dumped him onto his shoulder.  
"I advice you wash your mouth out with soap before you come back to the estate." her father-in-law muttered, whilst Madara just continued to stare at her right into the distance and between the trees.  
Groaning Lenore remained out by the river until later into the afternoon, her feet gently padding off of the floor as she headed towards her room. Shutting her door the young woman sighed and put her umbrella down, though she stopped when she found Madara sitting on her bed waiting for her in the shadows.  
"You're back." he spoke, trying to look grown-up. "Where have you been?" he asked coolly, lighting one of the oil lamps above their bed.  
"It's six in the afternoon." Lenore stated, flattening her features as she went to the other side of the room and tried to open up the curtains.  
"No, wait, I wanna keep them shut." Madara called, getting in her way.

Hitching an eyebrow Lenore stared at him for a moment, almost growing a little uncomfortable when he started to smirk up at her.  
"So… since you're my fiancée does that mean I get to see you in an evening kimono?" he asked, while she continued to give him a plain look.  
"You're seven." she reminded him.  
"So! I can look at girls!" he huffed, pouting up at her.  
"Yeah, that are your own age." she stated firmly, striding towards her wardrobe to search for something a little lighter to wear around the house.  
"But I don't know how to talk to girls my own age." Madara grunted, causing her to pause for a moment.  
"Madara Uchiha, unable to speak to girls." she gasped, turning to look at him. "I never thought I'd see the day." she added, ruffling his hair. "Well, I guess if you're not able to talk to girls then you're too young to be dating them!" she surmised, heading towards the bathroom to get changed.

Scowling the small boy went back to sitting on the bed, his arms wrapping around his knees as he grumbled into them. Once she had come back to retrieve something else Madara lifted his head.  
"Hey wait, do you know any more songs?" he asked, while she continued to potter around the room.  
"No." she answered plainly.  
"Aw, c'mon! Where'd you learn that other song anyway?" he whined, while she went to remind him he had taught her that song and then fell silent. No, in his current state he had not taught her anything. She could not even reminisce with him when he was like this.  
Letting out a hoarse sigh on that note Lenore finally put in the effort to put her umbrella back into the closet for safe keeping.  
"Hey, you're going to sleep here tonight right?" the young boy asked, trying not to look interested in knowing if she was or not.  
"You have your own bed." the ebony haired woman answered.  
"But I want to share this bed." he replied, frowning at the floor with his face turned away.

Examining him Lenore relaxed her expression after a short period of time.  
"You're too young to be trying to share a bed with a grown woman." she informed him.  
"No!" he snapped, glaring up at her as she allowed vague shock to come over her features. "I just want to sleep on your bed with you. We can stick a pillow between us, that way I wont get crushed by you in your sleep when you roll over!" he tried to compromise, tensing when the young woman threw a pillow at his face.  
"Brat." Lenore grumbled, leaving the room angrily thereafter.

Frowning Madara yanked at the corner of the pillow with his teeth and let out a disgruntled growl, his ebony eyes dulling when he realised he had been eating a pillow. At the dinner table the boy had put in the effort to sit next to her, his voice like a broken record beside Lenore as she tried to feed Izuna.  
"Then this thing comes flying into the room and picks him up." Madara stated, waving his hands around eagerly. Lenore was not entirely sure if he knew he was repeated her bird story from earlier or not but it kept him busy at least, his voice occasionally becoming muffled when he stuck food into his mouth.  
"Madara, don't speak with your mouth full." Tajima told him off, his hand rubbing his temple as he spoke.

Finding themselves alone in the dining room Lenore peered towards her father-in-law, a pout coming over her features.  
"It's been a while and they don't seem to be getting any better." she spoke, only stating the obvious in his opinion.  
"I've noticed. I still can't get in touch with Katashi either, I don't know what I'm going to do." the man sighed, rolling his fingers over his temple.  
"I wish these was something I could do." Lenore uttered, getting to her feet after scooping Izuna up into her arms.  
"This better not be permanent." Tajima grumbled, narrowing his gaze.

Wearily Lenore went to her bedroom to go to sleep, her heavy head hitting the pillows before it slid back and forth until she was comfortable. Tensing she opened her eyes a few minutes later however, her hand lifting up the covers to look down at Madara, who had slithered in from the foot of the bed to lay bent around her stomach and legs.  
"What are you doing?" she sceptically enquired, twitching her eyebrow.  
"I told you, this is our bed." he informed her, scooting further up the bed until he was laying his head between the bottom of her pillow and the mattress.  
Groaning Lenore put the covers back over her, she was much too tired to push him off of the edge of the bed, and far too warm to get out of bed and move herself. Stifling a yawn Lenore finally became comfortable, her eyes remaining hooded as she stared through the darkness.  
"I can't sleep." she heard Madara mumble.  
"Then count sheep." she grumbled back.  
"One… two…" he spoke, pausing.  
"Did it work?" Lenore dared to ask softly.  
"I ran out of fluffy sheep to count." the child replied, pressing his forehead against her chest.

Blinking Lenore drew her hand up and took it back down, the gentle pat of skin breaking the silence as Madara sat up and rubbed his cheek.  
"You don't touch a woman like that." she informed him, a vein popping out of her forehead.  
"But you're not a woman, you're a gorilla." he answered, ducking further down the bed and stuffing his face into her stomach before she could slap him again, but this time with some actual force.  
"I really will throw you out a window." she warned him, flattening her lips sternly.

Regaining her composure and relaxing once more Lenore tried to go to sleep, however Madara soon spoke once again, waking her up in the process.  
"I still can't sleep." he mumbled, his eyes shut as he lapped up the body heat radiating off of her that he was not accustomed to. "Sing me a song. That helps Izuna sleep." he requested.  
"Aren't you a little old to be asking for lullabies?" the young woman asked, hitching her brow sleepily.  
"Fine, I'll just count more sheep." he threatened her, waking her up that little bit more.  
"Alright, alright." she quickly intervened. "Now let's see… A lullaby.." the woman murmured, trying to think of something short and snappy.  
Beginning to hum Lenore reached her hand towards his head and began to run her fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp in the process.  
"I need some sleep, it can't go on like this. I tried counting sheep but there's one I always miss. I need some sleep, time to put the old horse down. I'm in too deep and the wheels keep spinning 'round." the ebony haired woman whispered, waiting to see if he had fallen asleep before she even considered trying to herself.

Thankfully he had fallen asleep by this point, allowing her to join him, her mind being enveloped by her dreams after several long minutes of simply laying there waiting patiently. In the morning Lenore stretched and yawned, her eyelashes separating as her eyelids fluttered open. Humming she lay there for a moment and gazed at the ceiling, her head tilting to the side to look at Madara who was laying beside her and then away again.  
Blinking Lenore quickly sat up and looked at him, a look of surprise and joy coming over her. He was back to normal! Overcome with glee Lenore wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer, his face being buried into her chest but she did not care.  
"Madara!" she gasped, burying her face into his hair.  
"Lenore." the Uchiha responded in a muffled and groggy manner.

Confused he attempted to figure out where he was before his arms wrapped around her and he began to feign just as much excitement, it was not every morning that he could wake up to Lenore willingly stuffing her chest into his face.  
"Oh, I've missed you." she spoke, kissing his face all over.  
"I dunno what I've done but I wanna keep doing it." Madara replied, almost melting into her when she pressed her lips against his and held them there. Both of them stiffened when there was a scream from down the hall, which was apparently coming from Izuna's room.  
"Why am I bald?!" the younger Uchiha screamed, looking up at his panicked older brother and shocked sister-in-law as they came through the doorway.

Stood there Lenore explained the entire situation that had gone down over the last few days, including the hair incident which left Izuna sour faced and glaring at his older brother.  
"I said I was sorry." the Uchiha pressed, whilst his brother continued to scowl.  
"You shaved me bald!" he protested, stilling when Lenore stuck something on his head.  
"I thought this would happen, so I made you a wig for when you became an adult again." she explained, the ebony haired teen touching his new locks with a confused expression thereafter.  
"That looks like my hair!" Madara snapped, running his fingers through his hair. "That's my style!" he continued, frowning.  
"We had considered shaving you bald to make up for it, Madara." his fiancée informed him, causing the ebony haired Uchiha to take a drastic change in pace.  
"Oh, well, if you put it like that, it looks great on you, Izuna!" he gasped, nodding hesitantly.

Rolling her eyes Lenore began to lead Madara from the room, she still had to punish him for ruining her favourite kimono.  
"I'm glad everything's back to normal." she sighed, heading back towards the bedroom.  
"Lenore, promise me you wont shave me bald." her fiancé requested, looking at her searchingly.  
"I have a far greater punishment for you." she mumbled, handing him a broom and a duster. "Get sweeping, or I get shaving! You're going to start pulling your weight about around here." she stated, crossing her arms firmly.  
"Of course, oh you're such a loving, wonderful bride!" Madara stated, kissing her cheek before beginning to sweep the floor around the bed.  
"I'm glad we finally see eye to eye." she uttered, smiling softly.


End file.
